Assisted by Irídia, he has filed a complaint for the crime of torture and injury, with the aggravating factors of racism and the prevalence of public character.
The young man was assaulted with a truncheon during the “jump” on 2 March 2022, while fleeing from border agents.
Djack left Mali, his country of origin, fleeing the multiple terrorist attacks suffered in his region, which began in 2012 and continued until 2020, when he decided to leave his country due to the perception of insecurity, and after having lost members of his family as a result of the attacks. After leaving Mali, he tried to seek asylum in Algeria and Morocco, where he suffered episodes of discrimination and police persecution, until he decided to seek asylum in Spain. On 2 March, thousands of people, including Djack, jumped the fence separating Nador and Melilla, in the face of attempts by the State Security Forces and Corps to stop them from crossing.
During the operation, a Guardia Civil officer hit Djack directly on the head with a truncheon, causing the complete and irreversible loss of vision in his left eye. The young man, then still a minor, was admitted to the “La Purísima” centre for minors in Melilla, where he received initial medical attention. Later, he was transferred to a hospital, where he was admitted for 15 days.
The young man hardly receives any information about the prognosis of his eye. In fact, it was not until his transfer to Barcelona, months later, that he became aware of the extent of his injury.
During this time, the young man hardly received any information about the prognosis of his eye. In fact, it was not until his transfer to Barcelona, months later, that he became aware of the extent of his injury. Currently, Djack continues to receive treatment at the Hospital de Sant Pau in Barcelona and remains in a shelter provided by CEAR. He is also accompanied by the Fundació Punt de Vista, for eye injuries, and receives psychological treatment, given that the events had a serious psychosocial impact on him.
Djack has now decided to file a complaint against the Civil Guard who, using riot control equipment, caused him to lose the sight in one of his eyes, as well as against his superior in the field. The young man has the legal support of Irídia - Centre for the Defence of Human Rights, and has been assessed by the Sir[a] Centre, based on the Istanbul Protocol. The complaint points to a crime of torture and/or against moral integrity, due to the disproportionate and unjustified nature of the action, as well as the use of the defence in the area of the face, which breaches the protocol, and a crime of injury causing loss or uselessness of a major organ. To this is added the aggravating factor of racism, due to the context in which it took place, and the prevalence of a public nature.
The expertise
From the Sir[a] Centre, we contributed a report to the process in which we evaluated the psychological medical impact that the aggression had on the complainant. We noted the non-reversibility of the eye injury and identified the impossibility of recovering vision in the left eye as the main after-effect of the trauma suffered. On the other hand, we found a post-traumatic and depressive impact on the victim, which seriously hinders his daily activities, as well as damage to his identity derived from his self-image.
As a consequence of the loss of the eye, there is a rupture in Djack's life project, who feels hopeless about the possibility of starting a new life. This is compounded by an impact on his identity, which leads to a loss of self-confidence and difficulties in relating to other people.
We also identified a feeling of lack of protection for the young person and a lack of trust in the system. Both sequelae respond to the fact that it was a public official who assaulted him, which means that he no longer perceives Europe as a place of safety; and they are related to the lack of clarity and information he received from lawyers and health personnel in Melilla, both regarding his immediate future and the state of his eye injury. The latter has a specific psychological impact on Djack, who for months feels the anguish of not knowing if he will recover his sight. In this sense, it is not until his arrival in Barcelona that he is aware of the seriousness of his injury and that he will not be able to recover the functionality of his eye.